Key Highlights
- Kevin O’Leary made a private visit to David Candaux’s atelier in Le Solliat during Watches and Wonders Geneva, May 2026
- He received a one-of-a-kind DC6 Titanium with an anodized titanium black and red dial and red flanges, created exclusively for him
- The bespoke commission incorporates David Candaux‘s signature inclined tourbillon in a bold red execution
- David Candaux founded his eponymous independent watchmaking brand in 2017, based in the Vallée de Joux
- O’Leary is recognised as one of the most vocal advocates for independent watchmakers globally
A Commission Born in the Vallée de Joux
During Watches and Wonders Geneva this May, Kevin O’Leary — entrepreneur, investor, and one of the most discussed watch collectors of his generation — made a private journey to Le Solliat to meet David Candaux in his atelier. The Vallée de Joux has long been the geographic and spiritual heartland of Swiss haute horlogerie, and it was here that O’Leary came to collect the result of a deeply personal commission. Few collectors take the step of travelling to the source; O’Leary did so as a matter of conviction.
The centrepiece of the visit was the handover of a unique DC6 Titanium, conceived entirely around O’Leary’s signature red aesthetic. The piece features an anodized titanium case with a black and red dial, red flanges, and the distinctive visual architecture that defines Candaux’s output. Red is not merely decorative here — it is O’Leary’s emblematic colour, and its application across every plane of the watch gives the commission an unmistakable personal signature. The piece is, by design, unlike anything that has left the Solliat workshop before.
The DC6 Titanium: Architecture and the Inclined Tourbillon
The DC6 platform is David Candaux’s most architecturally assertive creation. Its construction is three-dimensional in a way that conventional watchmaking rarely attempts, with planes and surfaces arranged to create depth rather than flatness. Into this framework, the O’Leary commission integrates the brand’s patented inclined tourbillon — a regulator whose geometry departs from classical placement and whose engineering reflects years of independent research conducted within the Solliat atelier. The technical content is formidable; the red execution makes it confrontational in the best sense.
Candaux established his brand in 2017, drawing on a heritage rooted in the Vallée de Joux — the same territory that shaped the great independent houses of the 20th century. Every watch produced there is built from start to finish within the workshop, a discipline that ensures complete creative and mechanical control. His patents enrich the broader vocabulary of 21st-century watchmaking while remaining strictly tied to the valley’s tradition of quiet, intensive craft.
Why It Matters
For collectors across the GCC — a region with a sharp, growing appetite for independent watchmaking — the O’Leary commission illustrates what bespoke haute horlogerie at the highest level genuinely requires: a direct relationship with the maker, a vision strong enough to drive every technical and aesthetic decision, and the patience to see a singular object through to completion. David Candaux’s work does not circulate at scale; it is sought, commissioned, and collected by those who understand the difference between rarity and scarcity. This DC6 Titanium is both.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What makes the DC6 Titanium created for Kevin O’Leary unique?
The bespoke DC6 Titanium features an anodized titanium case with a black and red dial and red flanges, incorporating O’Leary’s signature red aesthetic throughout every plane of the watch. It includes David Candaux’s patented inclined tourbillon in a bold red execution, making it unlike any watch that has previously left the Solliat workshop.
What is the inclined tourbillon and why is it significant in David Candaux’s work?
The inclined tourbillon is David Candaux’s patented regulator whose geometry departs from classical placement, developed through years of independent research within the Solliat atelier. Its engineering represents a distinctive technical advancement that enriches the vocabulary of 21st-century watchmaking while maintaining the Vallée de Joux’s tradition of intensive craft.
When was David Candaux’s independent watchmaking brand founded and where is it based?
David Candaux established his eponymous independent watchmaking brand in 2017, based in the Vallée de Joux, a region renowned as the geographic and spiritual heartland of Swiss haute horlogerie. Every watch is built from start to finish within the workshop, ensuring complete creative and mechanical control.
